Transparency in the Procurement Process for the Volunteer Management Online Project
We are committed to conducting a transparent and fair procurement process for the Volunteer Management Online Project. To ensure that all potential suppliers have equal access to information, we are posting all questions and answers related to the Request for Proposals on this website.
Please visit this website regularly to check for new questions and answers. We will update the page when we receive a new question from a supplier and have prepared a response.
If you have a question about the RFP, please submit it at vmop@volunteeringaustralia.org. We will review all questions and post them on this website, along with our responses.
Benefits of Transparency in the Procurement Process
We feel that transparency in the procurement process offers a number of benefits for both suppliers and the project, including:
- Increased competition
- Improved probity and integrity
- Increased public trust
How We Are Ensuring Transparency in This Procurement Process
In addition to posting all questions and answers on this website, we are taking a number of other steps to ensure transparency in this procurement process, including:
- Publishing a clear and concise RFP that outlines all of the requirements for the contract.
- Allowing suppliers to submit questions about the RFP before submitting their proposals.
- Evaluating proposals in a fair and impartial manner.
- Publishing the results of the procurement process
We are committed to conducting a transparent and fair procurement process for the Volunteer Management Online Project. We encourage all potential suppliers to visit this website regularly to check for new information and to submit any questions they may have.
Please note:
Please be sure to read through all questions and answers.
Please refresh this page to ensure you have all current questions and answers.
Questions and Answers
| Item no. | Questions | Answers |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Is sub-contracting work to an agency essential to the proposal? | The Volunteer Management Online Project would prefer a holistic solution to the complementary challenges of Behaviour Change Management and Marketing from the best possible suppliers in the market. Subcontracting is not essential to the proposal – we will willingly accept proposals that offer a complete in-house solution by a single supplier. We will also willingly accept proposals where a specialist supplier (ie. a Behaviour Change Management Specialist OR a Marketing specialist) subcontracts to another specialist supplier. |
| 2. | If we are a specialist supplier and do not select a subcontractor, will the project be appointing another supplier for us to work with? | It is highly unlikely that we will be directly appointing two separate suppliers to manage the different parts of the scope of work outlined in this RFP as part of this procurement process. However, we will willingly accept proposals where a specialist supplier (ie. a Behaviour Change Management Specialist OR a Marketing specialist) subcontracts to another specialist supplier. |
| 3. | Which stage is the VMOP project currently at? | The latest project update is available on our website and should outline which stage the project is at. |
| 4. | Has VMOP been built, or at least the base architecture/prototype? | No, a prototype has not yet been built. We are expecting this to be built in 2024. |
| 5. | To what extent are you seeking a partner to help you with broader behaviour change in the volunteering ecosystem, to adapt practices from current ways of working to new ones that are digitally enabled by VMOP. | Yes we are certainly seeking this type of behaviour change. We trust it features as part of the scope outlined in the RFP and we encourage you to include it in your proposal. |
| 6. | Has VMOP been developed as a ‘product’. | The project will eventually feature a platform, you may choose to interpret this as a ‘product’ in the broadest sense. However we would prefer not to let that interpretation prevent you from exploring ‘different, innovative, and appropriately fit-for-purpose approaches’ |
| 7. | Has the planned user research and engagement for VMOP design taken place? | Some early engagement has been completed. Other user research is due for completion in 2023. Further research and engagement is proposed during the design and development phases in 2024. |
| 8. | What has been the extent of stakeholder engagement through the VMOP process so far, what were the types of questions/topics explored? | To date, stakeholder engagement has been conducted with over 400 people across the volunteer ecosystem. This has included in-person workshops and online surveys which explored users’ needs, expectations, preferences and requirements, preferred software providers and current pain points. |
| 9. | Will we have access to any data/information from those engagements | More detailed information will be provided to the preferred supplier following the successful procurement process. |
| 10. | The Volunteer Management Online Portal – will this be a website, mobile, app? | It will be an online platform, accessible on mobile and web |
| 11. | Project objectives/outcomes – do you have a measurement already in place that we can use as benchmarks? | The project objectives and outcomes were included in the scope of work. Specific measurements will be discussed with the successful vendor. |
| 12. | Are the current tech platforms and resources Government run? | They are not necessarily Government run. Some are, but many aren’t |
| 13. | What’s driving the growth of new entrants? | There are many factors but primarily dissatisfaction with the current fragmentation of resources and services and their desire for an easy, accessible, centralised resources and tools to make their roles simpler. |
| 14. | You reference “changes in the way people volunteer” – can you extrapolate? | There are many research reports that cover this in great detail, however an example of this is: volunteering opportunities have become more adaptable, with online tasks and skills-based projects catering to various individual capabilities and sectors of interest. You are only too welcome to research this further if you like. |
| 15. | Under behavioural shift you are asking for “outline the specific steps that will be taken to support users, administrators, and technology providers in the transition to the new platform” what does this look like? Is this a tech response or communications? | Users are the people likely to use the platform (ie. Volunteer Managers), Administrators would likely maintain the platform (ie. VA staff), technology providers would likely have their online tools feature on the platform, as a service. This behavioural shift could potentially involve both a tech response and a communications response. |
| 16. | Can we have access/reference to the portal please? | The portal has not yet been developed. It is expected to be available in 2024. |
| 17. | Do all VM’s work for VIO’s? | A significant majority of Volunteer Managers (VMs) would either volunteer with or work for Volunteer Involving Organisations (VIOs). |
| 18. | What are the expectations around the public pilot program? | The Public Pilot program will be the first opportunity that the wider public will have to access the platform. |
| 19. | Who are your stakeholders? | Our primary stakeholders have been outlined in the RFP. |
| 20. | What forms of engagement with stakeholders are currently available? | We use a wide variety of engagement methods with our stakeholders and are open to suppliers that propose existing, different, and innovative engagement solutions. |
| 21. | “Levels of readiness for behaviour change” – do we have any research that talks about this? | There is some research into Transtheoretical ‘Stages of Change’ Models that references this. You are only too welcome to research this further if you like. |
| 22. | Under behaviour change management – “support users, administrators, and technology providers” – what will be offered as support and who will offer it? | Users are the people likely to use the platform (ie. Volunteer Managers), Administrators would likely maintain the platform (ie. VA staff), technology providers would likely have their online tools feature on the platform, as a service. Support has been used to indicate that the proposed behaviour change strategies would assist them to adjust to the proposed changes. |
| 23. | Will the training module content be supplied? | Content will be curated and, if necessary, developed throughout the course of the project. |
| 24. | “Work with Volunteering Australia and our Project Partners” – who are the project partners | The latest project update is available on our website and should outline the project partners that have been engaged so far. |
| 25. | Of the Marketing deliverables and Behaviour Change Management which is the priority? (if there is one) | They are both a priority for the project. |
| 26. | Budget range please. This is critical for us to be able to provide an appropriate recommendation | We are not providing suppliers with a budget range. However we are looking for cost-effective solutions. The price put forward by vendors will be one of the considerations for the panel to select a preferred supplier. Providing a breakdown of costs for the strategies proposed will also assist the panel to make an informed decision on a cost – effective price relative to the strategies proposed and other suppliers. |
| 27. | Do you already have a customer/volunteer database? | Yes. It is based on subscribers to our project and organisation communications. |
| 28. | Do you already have a migration plan for current volunteers and suppliers to the new online portal? When does this commence? | No. This will be developed in parallel to the development of the portal, likely in 2024. |
| 29. | Apart from the current published research what other research do you have available, or have access to, on the volunteer community across Australia? | We would also have access to published research on the volunteer community across Australia. |
| 30. | What demographic details do we have available? | The volunteering ecosystem often reflects the communities in which it operates. In this case it would reflect the Australian demographic data. We would encourage you to consider that volunteers have a large diversity of ages, abilities, education, cultural background, gender and other demographic factors. We therefore suggest you propose accessible, useable and inclusive solutions. |
| 31. | What are the usage barriers that have informed the development of the current website? | We aim to follow WCAG and W3C principles when we develop online platforms to improve accessibility, useability and inclusivity. |
| 32. | Do you have any major competitors? | Volunteering Australia is the peak body for volunteering in Australia. We work closely with other State and Territory Peak Bodies for Volunteering, and Volunteer Involving Organisations to advocate for and represent their interests. We strive to foster collaborative and collegiate rather than competitive relationships. |
| 33. | Are there any other marketing/promotional activities planned for that time? | National Volunteering Week is scheduled for May 2024. The establishment Phase of the National Strategy for Volunteering is also scheduled to launch in June 2024. These would be the two most significant marketing / promotional activities around that time. There are likely to be synergies between the Volunteer Management Project and both of these planned activities. |
The Volunteer Management Online Project is funded by the Australian Government.
